No, Damar Hamlin Was Not 12th Man On The Field For The Bills’ Game-Losing Play

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The Buffalo Bills 2023 season hit rock bottom on Monday night, as the team dropped to 5-5 following a home loss to the Denver Broncos.

Making matters worse for the Bills is that they not only turned the ball over four times but they cost themselves a win with a boneheaded penalty during the game’s final play.

The Broncos, trailing by 1, rushed to the line to kick a potential game-winning field goal and got the kick off with about four seconds left.

To the delight of the Bills and their fans, Will Lutz’s kick drifted wide right and ultimately missed, seemingly sealing the 22-21 win for Buffalo. That’s when disaster struck, however, as the officials tossed their flags for a penalty on the Bills: 12 men on the field.

The penalty gave Lutz another shot at the field goal, and he drilled it, propelling the Broncos to a 24-22 win.

Monday night’s game between the Bills and Broncos was also notable as it marked the first time that safety Damar Hamlin, who almost lost his life last season after he suffered cardiac arrest during a game against the Bengals last season, took an official snap since that harrowing night. He even made a tackle.

Following the loss, however, some NFL fans on Twitter tried to create the narrative that Hamlin was the 12th man on the field during the game-ending play and ultimately cost Buffalo the win.

That, however, has proven to be untrue as the 25-year-old safety was not even on the field for the play.

NFL/ESPN

Whether Hamlin was on the field or not is ultimately irrelevant, though, as it distracts from what the main topic should be: how broken the Buffalo Bills are right now.

Not only is the offense struggling to score points and turning the ball over at an alarming rate, but the 12-men-on-the-field penalty — which came after the Broncos ran multiple kneel-downs, giving the Bills a chance to get their personnel for the field goal set — is indicative of an unserious football team.

Now sitting at 5-5 in a crowded AFC, the Bills find themselves outside of the playoffs looking in, with games against the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, and Miami Dolphins still to play.